IF4IT Education

The Foundation offers numerous Career Education and Certification solutions to help improve knowledge about Information and Technology Management (ITM). These course and certification offerings exist for two reasons:

To help develop better IT operators, managers, and leaders.

To help develop better IT organizations.

The IF4IT Blueprint for Information & Technology Management (ITM) as a Foundation

Our portfolio of offerings is based on our Blueprint for Information & Technology Management (ITM), which offers hundreds of specialization areas. This Blueprint is the most comprehensive representation of its kind, in the IT industry, and represents a framework for the design, development, operations, and support of highly repeatable IT Organizations (along with the necessary Capabilities, Services, Functions, and Skills required for doing so).

Course Delivery

Education courses and exams are offered in the following ways:

Online and Instructor Led: These courses are broken into multiple sessions over a period of time and are offered via web conference sessions. Instructors teach the material, proctor the exams, and offer online support for questions and answers. These courses are usually offered during non-business hours, to ensure they don’t conflict with your busy schedule and disrupt your work.

On-Site and Face-to-Face: These courses bring the instructors to your facility and, instead of breaking the course into multiple sessions, allow for end-to-end instruction and certification.

Electronic and Remote: The Foundation can work with you to develop fully electronic instructorless courses that you can tie to your own Electronic Learning platforms. These courses allow your staff to learn at their own pace and take the exam, when they’re ready.

Certification Types

The Foundation offers three (3) certification types:

IF4IT Specialist Certification (IF4IT-SC): Specialist Certifications are offered for highly focused areas of the IF4IT Blueprint for Information & Technology Management (ITM) (e.g. Program Management, Project Management, Release Management, Service Management, Situation Management, etc.). Specialist Certifications focus on teaching students about the operational details associated with that area of specialization. For example: Common Language (terms and definitions); Audit and Compliance issues; associated Life Cycles; Tracking of Inputs, Outputs, and Resources; Processes and Procedures; Frameworks; Templates; Tools used to enable such areas.

IF4IT Manager Certification (IF4IT-MC): Manager Certifications are offered for one or more interdependent specialization areas of the Foundation’s Information & Technology Management (ITM) Blueprint. This certification is perfect for the person that is self-grooming or being groomed for a role as a manager of people and services. In addition to covering the basics for the Specialist Certification, these courses delve into what it means to manage people, services, and expectations, while also providing an understanding of the interactions between other relevant specialization areas. It teaches what good IT leaders will expect of managers and starts to enlighten managers and potential managers about what it means to be a good IT leader.

IF4IT Leader Certification (IF4IT-LC): Leader Certification is based on a single course that is offered for those individuals who are on an IT leadership track or who simply wish to better understand what it means to be a good IT leader (e.g. CIO, CTO, and their direct reports). This course is intended to provide a detailed understanding of all areas of the Information & Technology Management (ITM) Blueprint, including all areas of specialization and management, so that the student can gain a much stronger grasp of what it means to build highly repeatable IT organizations, what it means to develop strong IT staff, and what it means to meet and exceed the expectations of the businesses that fund IT.

Costs

Costs for IF4IT Education and Certification programs are driven and affected by Credit Hours.

Cost per credit hour is $100 USD.

Total Course Cost is determined by the total number of Credit Hours required for that course. Different courses have different required Credit Hours.

Examination Fee is $100 USD (The fee is included for courses or purchases that are more than 8 Credit Hours.

Quantity based discounts can be offered for bulk purchases by enterprises (e.g. companies, government agencies, universities)

What’s Included

Aside from a great education and a formal certification, the following comes with our courses:

A certificate of completion and a Certification Identifier (both subject to passing certification exams) that will allow you to prove to leaders and prospective employers that you maintain said certification.

Any relevant templates that apply to the area of study being pursued.

Automatic discounts on future IF4IT courses and certification exams that you take within a two (2) year period, following your certification.

A detailed and up to date copy of the IF4IT Blueprint for Information & Technology Management (ITM). This includes access to a codified version that you and your enterprise can use to upload into your modeling and Knowledge Management tools.

Access to one free year of the Foundation’s NOUNZ Lite Knowledge Management Software, preloaded with the Foundation’s codified Blueprint for ITM so that you save the time of doing so, yourself.

Course Customization (Applies only to Enterprises)

Where it makes sense for you and your organization, the Foundation can work with you to create custom material that is specific to your enterprise and that goes above and beyond our own best practice material. This is especially useful if you want to train new employees and consultants to be highly productive with your own solutions in our education and certification areas, as quickly as possible. This has the added benefit of teaching best practices and then how your own organization deals with them.

Association Leaders

About Us

The International Foundation for Information Technology (IF4IT) is a global industry best practices association that promotes the interests and career development of practitioners, educators, and students who wish to extend their knowledge and understanding of IT operations, management, and leadership.